American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (AAM) established a manufacturing facility in Lancaster, Pa., approximately 75 miles west of Philadelphia. The 30,000-square-foot plant expands AAM's welding and bare spindle axle assembly capacity for the Class 8 commercial truck market. The Lancaster Manufacturing Facility is configured with the flexibility to run as a three-shift, six-day-a-week operation as volumes warrant. According to AAM, the south-central Pennsylvania location provides excellent geographic access to key customers in the region. Class 8 trucks are those with a gross vehicle weight over 16.5 tons, generally including all 18-wheel tractor-trailer rigs.

AAM has begun supplying rear axles for Volkswagen's 2010 Amarok, a new double-cab pickup initially launched for the South American market. The Amarok incorporates AAM's all-new high-efficiency axle, TracRite® Electronic Locking Differential (ELD), along with AAM's chassis-mounted locking-differential electronic control module. The axles will be manufactured at AAM's Araucaria Manufacturing Facility in Brazil